Any views expressed by any contributor to the Belfry
Bulletin, including those of officers of the club, do not necessarily coincide
with those of the editor or the committee of the Bristol Exploration Club,
unless stated as being the view of the committee or editor.
Contents
- 1 Mendip Rescue Organisation
- 2 Club Headquarters
- 3 Club Committee
- 4 Officers Of The Club
- 5
- 6 Editorial
- 7 Letters
- 8 Members Addresses
- 9
- 10 Geophysical Cave Prospecting
- 11
- 12 Climbing 1971 1972
- 13
- 14 Dates For Your Diary
- 15 At the Belfry
- 16
- 17 Some lesser Yorkshire Caves
- 18
- 19 Belfry Enquiry?
- 20
- 21 Monthly Crossword Number 22.
Mendip Rescue Organisation
In case of emergency telephone WELLS 73481.
EXPLORATION CLUB
Club Headquarters
The Belfry,
Rd.
Club Committee
Chairman: S.J.
Collins
Minutes Sec: D. Turner
Members: R. Bagshaw; W. Cooper;
D.J. Irwin;
N. Jago; T.E.
Large; A.R. Thomas;
R. Orr; R. Hobbs.
Officers Of The Club
Hon. Secretary: A.R.
Thomas, Allens House,
Barrows Lane
Hon. Treasurer: R.J. Bagshaw,
Knowle,
4. Tel: WHITCHURCH. 5626.
Caving Sec: T.E. Large,
Bishopston,
Climbing Sec: N. Jago, 2 Broughton
House,
Redcliffe,
1.
Hut Warden: R. Orr. The Belfry, as above.
Hut Engineer: R. Hobbs, Rose Cottage,
West End, Nailsea,
Tele
77368
Tacklemaster: W. Cooper,
77368.
B.B. Editor: S.J. Collins, Lavender
Cottage, Bishop Sutton, Nr. Bristol.
Librarian: D.J. Irwin, Townsend
Cottage, Priddy, Wells,
Publications: D.J. Irwin. Address as above
B.B. Post: Mrs. K. Mansfield, Tiny
Kott, Little
Editorial
The Belfry
In this B.B. you will find a few words written as a result
of the recent Committee enquiry. Just
how they strike you will depend on your personal attitude but, considering the
relatively short time that the present Belfry has been in operation, the
situation is no worse than might well have been expected and should give no
cause for alarm.
That the B.E.C. finds itself in a position where the Belfry
cannot be its members own hut to the exclusion of all others; and that it must
give priority over day and even¬ing visitors to those who sleep there may
strike some as a novel – even sinister – turn of events, but is this really
so? It is certainly not novel. For many years the club encouraged visiting
cavers to stay at the Belfry and acquired many useful contacts as a
result. Similarly, the ‘regulars’
evolved an image of life as it was then lived at the Belfry and took the view
that if others did not like this, they could lump it. We both gained and lost people by this
attitude.
Whereas few people would like to see the B.E.C. turn into a
dull; respectable; studious and narrow minded body, it must be admitted that
attitudes change and that if the present one is towards more caving and away
from singing and bottle walking, then that’s how it is. Worse things could happen.
Unskilled Labour
As you will see, printing enables one to drop a greater
variety of ‘clangers’ than does duplicating, and this B.B. could well serve as
an example of what NOT to do. Have
patience – we will get the hang of it!
Alfie
Letters
Letterewe
Wester
24.3.72
Dear Alfie
The ripples and noises of dissention have spread even to our
far-flung position in the B.E.C. empire and I would like to put the views of an
exile if I may.
My views on club politics are well known – but committees
must be. That the B.E.C. committee
through the years has been a successful one must be apparent from the history
the club in the March B.B. I personally
know about 70% of the present committee. I have stood before them for the odd bollocking and a thank you – the
former well deserved and the latter gratefully received. Now these people have been elected time and
time again – proving the clubs acceptance of their expertise. They may be getting a bit long in the tooth
in the eyes of some of the younger and newer members but before one begins to
criticise, look back at their record. I
joined the B.E.C. in 1960 because the Belfry was a better place than
the club have increased without my being really aware of it – and it would be a
great pity if the club were to suffer from any form of dissention.
My advice to dissenters is Put up or shut up. Let them go into print (yes, print now in the
B.B.) and let every one hear their point of view or, better still just shut up
and leave it to the experts – for that is what our committee at present are.
Yours Sincerely
Steve Grime.
Members Addresses
New Members
775/6 Mr & Mrs J. Upsall,
777 J. Durston, Tolcarne,
778/9 Mr & Mrs J. Calder,
Wilts.
Change Of Address
T. Fletcher.
Bradcote, Nottingham
C.G. Howell,
Edgbaston,
R. Toms, 22 Lancing gardens,
London N9
Paid Up
G.S. Watts,
Geophysical Cave Prospecting
A short account of the possibilities of various methods
written for the B. B.
by JOHN LETTEREN of
M.N.R.C. & Wessex.
Introduction
It has long been the dream of many cavers to construct a little
black box to detect and locate caves. The great majority of known caves on Mendip occur on the Black
Rock/Lower Limestone Shales boundary, and have been discovered by digging
active or extinct swallet type entrances. A few large solutional cave systems, notably Lamb Leer and
have absolutely no surface features and were discovered (by mining operations)
quite by chance. The discovery of
in the early days was, in fact, facilitated by a natural opening in the roof of
the main chamber, but there are probably a considerable number which, like Lamb
Leer, retain their secrecy. Other
examples are Manor Farm Swallet whose roof collapsed in 1968; the larger caves
of Fairy Cave quarry, which were broken into by quarrying and – if you believe
in fairies – the gulf at Sandford Hill and Palmer’s Chamber off Lamb Leer.
Dowsing
Until the physical principles of this method are understood
it must be regarded as a black art. No
significant caves have been discovered by this method.
Resistivity
Various workers, notably the late Prof. Palmer, have
measured earth resistance in an attempt to delineate caves. The method is extremely slow and tedious, as
it is necessary to traverse the area not once but many times with different
probe spacings to work to different depths. One worker in the U.S.S.R. has taken 20,000 readings in one area
alone. Even then, there is a chance of
detecting faults as the method is only capable of detecting surfaces, not
volumes. Although various people have
claimed success; few, if any large caves have been discovered (i.e. entered)
using this method.
Seismology
I spent three years working on explosion seismology. I received echoes from the region where
Palmers Chamber should be, also from G.B. and some others. This method is even more prone to detecting
surfaces and was deliberately shelved by myself for that reason in favour of
gravitational methods.
Microwave Thermometry
As the earth loses heat at night, cavities near the surface
act as insulators and prevent the earth’s heat from reaching the surface thus
giving rise to cool areas. However, the
temperature differences are so small that a microwave thermometer is needed to
measure the wavelength of the infra-red radiation. The Americans fly such instruments at night
to detect old mine workings under highways etc. and they claim to detect not
only the tunnels but even the pit props! Unless one of these is hi – jacked, it would appear to be beyond the
Scope of a club project.
Gravimetry
The earths force (or acceleration, if you insist) of gravity
diminishes slightly over a cavity. The
figure obtained from theory over Lamb Leer main chamber is a quarter of a part
per million, or 0.25 milligal a milligal being approximately a micro-g. One can purchase an instrument having an
accuracy of 0.01 milligal, but before putting this to your committee, I should
mention that such instruments cost about £3,500. Various types of gravimeter have been
proposed. The one referred to above is
the Worden. Others use variations of the
Cavendish balance or clever overbalancing mass-spring systems (such as the von
Thyssen).
and others have realised that electronic timers are now fast and accurate
enough to time a falling mass to one part in ten million at least, but there
are problems in determining the start and finish times to the required
accuracy. I am myself working on a home
made gravimeter but as it is just possible that the idea might be worth a
patent, I won’t discuss it here.
Other Methods
There are several other cave finding methods about, but I
won’t attempt to describe any more here. Ideas like putting down boreholes all over the place and lowering down
miniature T.V. cameras I will leave for you to exploit if you so wish.
Ethics
Is there a case for NOT using these methods? Are they, like poisoning foxes, basically
unsporting? I do not think so. Any method, however effective, will only
detect caves in certain environments and even then, the problem of breaking
into the detected cave arises. The
Palmer’s Chamber dig has been going on steadily for generations, and had still
a long way to go. However, a really
effective instrument could reward its designer by finding at least one new,
big, shining, unspoilt cave and – a part from Rhino – it is a long time since
anyone has done so on Mendip.
Editor’s
Note: This is a subject which does not
get heard of for long intervals in the B.B., and it is interesting to learn
that workers are still busy in this field of enquiry. Any comments from readers on either the
scientific or ethical sides of this subject?
Climbing 1971 1972
Anan account of climbs and trips carried out by club members
during the past twelve months
by GERALD OATEN.
The passing of this Easter makes it a year since the B.E.C.
climbers headed for ‘Them thar hills’ namely
previous B.B.)
On arrival. we had prepared for the worst, having aired our
thick jumpers, over rousers and long johns. To our amazement, the sun beat down on us for six days. This made the gully climbs soft going, so the
intrepid climbers made their way to Glen Etieve and the famous Trilleachan
slabs. Nigel Jago and Derek Targett
climbed Hammer, 500ft, and Spartan Slab – both V.S.’s. On returning, they said that it was some of
the most enjoyable climbing they had done. On the last night of the stay, out luck changed. It rained and blew all night. Thus we beat a hasty retreat from
The next trip that members made was at Whitsun. This time, we migrated south to
Nigel descended Ash Can Gulley at Chair Ladder to climb Bishop’s Rib (X.S. 190′
) while Peter Sutton and myself scrambled down the easier way and made our way
at sea level to Central Route (V.S. 195′). On sighting the start of our climb some fifteen feet above us on a
ledge, Pete made his way up the short vertical wall. Then it was my turn. I made the first two
moves then it happened! – my shoulder came out again.
Pete’s quick thinking saved me from falling into the
‘Oggin. He made the rope fast and
belayed me to it. Then off for help he went, leaving me alone.
Although the tide was going out, the waves were sometimes
crashing over me; making me wet and miserable. After what seemed an eternity, Pete returned with the boys and they
decided to inform the coast guard at the top of the cliff. After about a quarter of an hour, the coastguard
arrived – wearing a white shirt and tie and
The general idea was to haul me up the two hundred odd foot
of cliff face on the stretcher. By this
time we had quite an audience, plus a lot of help from nameless climbers. After a half-hearted attempt, they decided to
abandon this method, making me think that they were going to leave me to the
mercy of the sea. All of a sudden there
was a mighty roar and a rush of hot down draught from a Royal Navy
helicopter. The Magnificent Men in their
Flying Machines had arrived! After some
skilful manoeuvres by the pilot, I was winched up into the craft and whisked
away to
Derek and Nigel made ascents of Diocese (V.S. 205′) and
Little Brown Jug (V.S. 200′) on the following days while the rest of the group
tried to get a suntan on Sennen beach.
After returning from
some of the active climbers set about climbing some of the harder routes on the
Avon Gorge. The four climbers who took
part in these climbs were Peter Sutton; Roy Marshall; Nigel Jago and Derek
Targett. They climbed in pairs.
Limbo (X.S. 230′) was climbed by Derek and Nigel. This is a fine route on Suspension Bridge
Buttress. It takes a line just right of
the arête. From the first belay you
climb on S, all rounded pockets on a slightly overhanging wall, breaking out
from this left on a hand traverse. At
the end of this is a difficult mantelshelf, which I was sure Nigel was not
going to make as he thrashed over it. The route then follows Hell Gates to the top.
Earl of Perth (H.V.S. 210′) is another route on the buttress
and this also was climbed by Nigel and Derek. This takes the same stance as Limbo, but starts off to the right over
the black bulge on the same sort of pockets as Limbo. After the first couple of moves you use a
peg, then follow the grooves that tend to go right, finishing on the final wall
of Hell Gates.
Pete and Roy joined Nigel and Derek for the ascent of How
Hard (H.V.S. 250′). Our four musketeers
next tackled Clan
where you belay in the cave. If you get
a chance to do either of these routes, there is a writing book in the cave with
some interesting comments in it. This
was first put there by (How’s the climb going? Ed.) Drummond. From the cave,
traverse left across the diedre by a series of bridging and hand traverses. The belay for this pitch is in a hairy
position in slings. The route then
follows the fault line ascending to the left for some hundred feet. This involves some difficult hand
traverses. By this time Pete and Roy
were on the second pitch with Pete in the lead.
across the diedre in spectacular form with a series of back ropes for
protection and he ended up spread-eagled on the diedre. The last pitch is the same as for Limbo.
After doing this route, Derek and Nigel decided to try Last
Slip (X.S. 130′). The first pitch of
this is made by fingery lay backs that prove to be very strenuous. In the following weekends they did this pitch
so often that they could have done it blindfolded. The second pitch of the climb takes a clean
cut groove with a bolt for protection nearly at the base. Nigel, who was leading, made it to the bolt
and a little above, then he came to a halt. The moves to make are a series of bridging and backing up ¬or that’s
what it says in the guidebook. Barrie
and I were prussiking up the climb taking photographs and uttering words of
encouragement. The reply we received was
Go follow the sun! After several
attempts at the climb, they gave it up as a bad Job.
The last hard route done was Spinor (X.S.130′). It is a very strenuous climb on red
overhanging wall in the Amphitheatre. If
anybody would like to look at some black and white photos of these routes,
contact the Climbing Secretary.
One Monday afternoon in August saw ten members on a ferry in
the middle of the English Channel on their way to the
that was very much overloaded with climbing and camping gear for eighteen
days. With so many navigators in the
van, we found ourselves somehow in the middle of the
fruit market but eventually we managed to get on the right auto route that took
us deeper into
the
After eighteen hours driving and after many wrong turns and
traffic jams, we arrived in
heavy rainstorm started. We had arranged
to meet Bob and Lyn White and also Bob Sell in the Bar National, where we all
had a long awaited and well deserved beer. We managed to pitch camp on the same site as the others. With gear strewn all over our camp, we were
the spectacle of the site, with the French walking past and muttering words
that sounded like ‘Mad Anglais.’
Nigel and Fred set off to climb
Blanc
alpine hut. At this height, they both
suffered a bit and so decided not to go on. Barrie, Derek and Bob Sell did not know this, and they set off to cross
the glacier at a narrower point to meet up with the other two. It must have been very funny to see these
three slogging up the path with ice axes, crampons, heavy boots and pack and
being overtaken by old women carrying handbags and wearing shoes. On reaching
the edge of the glacier they were so tired that they decided to come back down.
After our stay at Chamonix, we moved on to
in
north face of the Eiger in the distance (13,026ft) and the Monch
(13,449ft). To see the sun setting on
these mountains was, I think, the most beau¬tiful sight of the entire trip.
Bob Sell was the only person in the group that did any
climbing. He set off one day with a
friend to reach the summit of the Eiger by its west flank. While he was doing this, the rest of us set
about sightseeing and put in some strenuous drinking (it was a long way to go
for a booze up!)
Our trips included a drive to Trummelbach where there is a
large waterfall which cascades from the middle of a cliff face. For a small fee you can go up in a lift and
see the water crashing along its course. A lot of the time was spent on the grassy banks of one of the lakes
sunbathing. On one occasion while the
rest sunbathed, five of us went to a place called Kleine Scheidegg
(6,762ft). There are a couple of hotels
here at the base of the
there, there are two ways up. Walking,
or catching the mountain railway. We
took the latter. On reaching Kleine
Scheidegg we sat on the grass and ate a watermelon we had bought. After this, we walked ‘the couple of miles to
the famous town of
and had a look around while waiting for our lift back.
After the long journey outwards, we decided to make the
return journey include an overnight stop. This turned, out to be in a little sleepy village just outside
pleasant evening drinking in the bars with the locals.
We made an early start in the morning, getting to
and managing to get on the 10.30 ferry. On arriving at
had to push the van off because it would not start. Since our return, the climbing section has
not been very active but now, with the lighter nights coming, I am sure that
our members will be climbing with renewed vigour after their long rest through
the winter months.
Dates For Your Diary
The second B.E.C. Course Cave Surveying is being held on
consecutive Saturday evenings at the Belfry from 7:30 to 8:30 pm. Dates and
subjects as follows: –
Saturday, 3rd June.
General Introduction (Aims of a
survey. What the surveyor should be
asking himself, etc.)
Saturday, 10th June.
The Line Survey. (Including calibration etc.)
Saturday, 17th June.
Traverse Closures.
Saturday, 24th June.
Detail and Survey Presentation.
Saturday, 1st July.
Survey Drawing.
SUNDAY 9TH JULY
Practical surveying in the flue
tunnels.
*****************************************
Bred any good Rooks lately? – sorry, Read any good
books? If so, and the book is of
interest to cavers, climbers etc. Why
not write a book review for the B.B.? Any length from a short paragraph will be useful! Have a go!
Have you bought your copy of MENDIPS VANISHING GROTTOES yet? Copies are running out fairly rapidly and –
like the caves they so vividly illustrate – may soon disappear. Get your copy before this happens – at the
Belfry or from Dave Irwin.
At the Belfry
A periodical review or
the Belfry scene by the Hut Warden, JOCK
ORR.
Let’s start off with caving. Things are improving. Some of the
names appearing in the Belfry hut fee book also appear in the caving logs. Early morning trips on Sundays are well
supported with people getting up after a reasonable night’s sleep; cooking
their breakfasts and carrying on with the day’s activities.
Hung-over festerers emerging at 11 am snarling and snapping
at the cooking fumes are no longer part of the accepted scene, but have become
somewhat of a novelty and are regarded as social pests.
Recent visiting clubs at the Belfry include the Bradford
Pothole Club over Easter who, after an enjoyable Mendip weekend underground,
interspersed with suitable periods for refreshment, eventually flaked out on
Monday in Goatchurch. Representatives of
several university, scout leaders clubs and polytechnics put in appearances
prior to Easter and filled the place to capacity. And – a new development – Box Stone Mine has
suddenly become a popular tourist attraction.
What about digging? There are three probes going on at the moment and Cuthberts is due for
another all-out shift system attack on sump II sometime in the summer. Our Caving Secretary is looking very happy as
a result!
Over the weekend of 7-9th April, Hut Engineer Rodney Hobbs
sniffed out a ruptured ‘T’ junction in the main water feed pipe running
underneath a corner of the Belfry foundation raft – after the Water Board had
detected thousands of gallons of water disappearing somewhere between the road
and the building. Directing operations with professional aplomb, Rod set his
squad to digging trenches and expose the elusive pipe. A passing J.C.B. excavator was hired the spot
and the new pipe was trenched; laid and reconnected by Messrs Gander and Prewer
in the space of an afternoon whilst the committee was in session on the enquiry
into the financing and running of the Belfry.
I must say I am impressed by the general tidiness of the
Belfry recently and the clearing up of various piles of rubbish around the
site. Although there has been a slight
decrease in the number of people staying, those who do are taking an obvious
interest in operating the place as a caving headquarters with less accent on –
to put it bluntly – a doss house for inebriated layabouts who have no intention
of going anywhere further than the nearest pub.
From what I have heard at Committee meetings, there is every
indication that this is going to be a busy year. A particular club officer commented during
the last meeting Some club members think the committee is out of touch with
the club requirements. In actual fact,
some club members are not only out of touch with the committee but with the
club itself!” I would agree. The individual who bleats and blahs about how
he would run the club is way out on a limb – in the moonshine – by himself.
Norman Petty is putting on a very interesting slide show on
the second weekend in May. It is all
about the old Belfry. Some of the slides
are really historic. Saturday night
after the pub. The club library is now
operational, and you can now obtain lighting spares, club ties and badges and
also publications at the Belfry. Dave
Irwin and his crew are digging Gour Rift down Cuthberts sharp at 9.30 every
Sunday morning, so come along and give a hand – or join the Tuesday Night
Diggers if you cant make it on a Sunday.
If you’re not caving, there are several maintenance jobs
awaiting people with willing hands. Come
and help us to take a pride in the Belfry and continue the good work and
traditions of the club.
Jock
Some lesser Yorkshire Caves
For those Mendip cavers who fear
that all pots in
great pitches, this article by DEREK SANDERSON should provide encouragement!
Most
cavers, when they venture north tend, for one reason or another, to head for the
deeper super-severe caves and pots. Yet
this may not always be possible. A few
weeks ago, three Mendip cavers found themselves in the
in something of a predicament. Keith
Sanderson (W.C.C.) and Derek Sanderson (B.E.C.) had sprained wrists, while
Roger Wing (B.E.C.) was still suffering from the after effects of a broken
leg. Thus, the more difficult pots were
out. However, the following trips were
made:-
SUNSET HOLE SD 742 759 Length 2180′ + Depth 120′ M.P.
Situated on the NW slopes of Ingleborough-Simonds Fell,
about a quarter of a mile NE from the slit entrance of Meregill Hole, where
stream sinks in a shakehole. The stream
passage is about two to three feet wide and formed as a rift. The rocks are brownish and well
scalloped. There had been considerable
rainfall during the previous days and the water level was high. In several places the current was too strong
to walk in.
The stream passage winds for about a quarter of a mile
uninterrupted. There are a few
formations, but they not impressive – except perhaps a stalagmite boss on the
right which is stained dark red.
After a quarter of a mile, the first pot is reached. This only eight feet and can be free-climbed
by traversing over the pot to the left, chimneying down a rift covered by
yellow flowstone and dropping the last few feet back into the streamway.
A short distance and the stream drops over a few short steps
and falls into the next pot of ten feet. Under normal conditions this pot would be free climbable, but as it was,
the stream would have swept us off and barred our return. We used a 120 handline belayed double to a
calcite column high on the right about 25 back from the lip. This made the descent invigorating but not
dangerous.
After about three hundred feet of narrow passage, the stream
drops over the third pot of twenty feet. This is passed by traversing over it into a narrow rift with wedged
boulders as a false floor. A squeeze through
the boulders and a climb down a sharp flake of rock leads into a final chamber
with a sixty foot drop into the final chamber. The stream drops to the right and emerges into the final chamber as a
forty foot waterfall. We didnt tackle
the final pitch (Im not doing sixty foot pitches without a lifeline for
anybody!)
We took an hour and a quarter, though some time was wasted
retrieving a length of ladder which was swept away by the stream at the ten
foot pot. There is a well-decorated
extension to the cave, but we missed it – though a small passage does lead off
to the right above the twenty foot pot. Perhaps this leads to it.
MID WASHFORD -.GREAT
mile. M.C.
There appears to be about three entrances at the Mid
Washfold end, situated about half a mile NE of Sunset Hole around a
sheepfold. The wet entrance is behind
the sheepfold, but was impassable. A
second wet entrance is seen where a stream sinks in the limestone pavement
twenty yards to the south. We descended
a dry entrance amongst the clints between the sheepfold and the footpath.
A narrow passage leads in for a short distance until a low
tunnel turns off to the right. A crawl over pebbles for about twenty yards
leads to a flat out bedding plane crawl for a few feet until a hole downwards
of three feet leads to flowing water. Descending the hole is awkward. Below is a second bedding plane about 1′ 9″ wide with, on this
occasion, a foot of water in it. After
crawling downstream for about thirty feet, a considerable volume of water
enters from the right (wet entrance) and a further forty five feet leads to a
junction with more water entering from the left. From this point, the roof rises and one is in
the upper reaches of
Great Douk is straightforward – walking practically the way. The passage varies from a typically northern
crawl to a high rift passage. In some
parts the water reaches waist deep, at one point it races crystal clear along a
smooth-washed floor in a high, scalloped rift barely two feet wide. Eventually one passes under Little Douk Pot,
a fifty foot shaft from the surface, and into a large passage which leads to
the wide entrance of
foot waterfall.
CALF HOLES –
BROWNHILL CAVE through trip. Birkwith area. SD 804 775 / 801
778 2,000′ M.P.
Three hundred and fifty yards NNE of Old Ing Farm, where a
stream drops impressively into a thirty five foot shaft. Ladder the shaft through an eyehole on the
left for a dry descent. The ladder pitch
is straightforward.
We didn’t find this cave as impressive as David Heap would
have one believe from ‘Potholing beneath the
Pennines
chamber which contains a thirty foot waterfall. This passage consists mostly of a bedding plane with a gully cut in to
it on the right by the small stream. There are many interesting though small formations on the left of the
stream. The final section of passage is
a flat out crawl.
Downstream from the Calf Holes entrance, the passage is
large and for the first seven hundred feet reminiscent of the
Eventually, the stream sinks under the left hand wall and, a
hundred feet on where the roof begins to get uncomfortably low, a small tube
leads off to the left. This links Calf
Holes to
Hainsworth’s Passage. It is the best
part of the whole system. The rock is
light grey and rubbed smooth and shiny. The tube deescends for a short distance and an awkward drop of three
feet leads to a cramped chamber. From
here, a delightfully smooth solutional passage leads back to the stream which
flows in a surprisingly clean large tube-like passage.
Soon, the stream drops over a twenty foot waterfall, but dry
solutional tubes on the right lead to Staircase Bypass which drops down to a
narrow rift. Left leads to the foot of
the waterfall whilst right leads over boulders for a hundred feet until the streamway
is regained and easy walking leads to the entrance at Browgill. We took an hour and a half over this one, but
Roger was suffering a bit.
Situated to the south of Dismal Hill, about a third of a
mile due south of Old Ing Farm, in a small dry valley halfway between the wall
and t he scar.
The entrance consists of a horizontal letterbox in clean
grey rock about eighteen inches high. A
flat out crawl leads for twelve feet. From here, a chimney drops fifteen feet to a ledge. Three feet to the right, a second descent of
twenty feet leads into a rift. The
descents can be free climbed, but we used a handline belayed to an obvious
flake of rock outside the cave.
To the right, the rift is blocked at high level by pale
yellow calcite on the right hand wall, but crawling underneath a pebble floor
for about fifteen feet leads to an awkward twisting scramble over a sharp flake
of rock to a wider part of the rift. Straight on is a small chamber containing rotted calcite on the
floor. However, just after the flake of
rock at floor level, a clean layer of grey rock leads under the left hand
wall. This is the start of a tight
bedding plane crawl of about seventy feet. At a number of places in the crawl the head has to be turned on its side
owing to lack of space. One can easily
become stuck if one fails to follow the slight winding groove which takes a
trickle of water. Midway is a constriction
in the form of an S bend formed by blocks of false floor in the bedding plane. The whole crawl is difficult but
challenging. From the crawl, one emerges
into a stream passage running from left to right. It is dead straight at this point, three to
four feet wide and p1easantly scalloped. The stream is swift flowing. I
was the only one to pass the crawl and I didn’t explore the streamway which
felt somewhat remote. This cave is worth
a visit.
806 768 Length 1350 D.C.
Situated in the same are as Dismal Hill cave~ on other side
of a ruined sheepfold in a shakehole where a stream flows into a rift
passage. There is nothing complicated
about this cave. Its main attraction is
the sculptured stream passage which winds for a considerable distance until a
waist deep canal is reached which ends in a scummy sump. About halfway the stream flows through a
series of circular rock ribs as if it were flowing through hoops about six feet
in diameter set two to three feet apart with deep pools in between.
At the first right hand bend a tributary passage enters on
the left. A traverse at high level along
this leads to the tributary stream which can be followed upstream to a canal
five to six feet deep and three feet wide with a low duck at the end. This duck was first by passed by A. Gemmel
(‘Underground Adventures’). After the
duck, the passage forks. To the right
the passage looks dusty and uncomfortable. To the left the stream can be followed until a flooded cross rift halts
progress. This rift is over six feet
deep and must be near the surface of the moor.
is a pleasant, friendly cave and barely deserves its ‘difficult’ grading.
Belfry Enquiry?
The Belfry is the largest asset of our club and one towards
which many have contributed to an extent far in excess of their normal
subscriptions. The running, maintenance
and use of the Belfry is thus a subject of great importance. The 1971-72 Committee have recognised this
and, as a result of a suggestion from the chairman has recently conducted an
enquiry on all aspects of Belfry running and use. The purpose of these notes is to give members
some idea of what resulted.
The first thing to emerge was that the new Belfry costs a
lot more to run than the old one did. Insurance and rates are very much higher. It costs more to heat. This latter might well be made more efficient
but even so, the building is bigger and inadequate heating is going to cost the
club money in repairing damage due to damp. An estimate of running costs suggests a figure of £210 p.a. or about £4
per week. It is possible to nit-pick a
little about this total~ but not much.
Still, a high running cost is not the end of the world if it
is matched by revenue. Well, is it? The committee found that in the first full
year of operation the revenue was £278 and the estimate for this year is
£234. Obviously it is paying, but is the
drop in revenue any cause for alarm? If
it were to fall much further, the Belfry would no longer pay.
Luckily, the position is brighter. Dave Irwin’s very detailed analysis showed
that the drop is due to members – guests stay at a constant level – and that
the drop in members is only a seasonal one; falling over the summer months. This can be explained by the fact that fewer
members are spending parts of their summer holidays at the Belfry. Thus, provided we do nothing to make the
present situation any worse, the Belfry looks as if it will continue to pay for
itself.
Not entirely, however. So far, only running costs have been considered. It was generally agreed that something like
£50 per year should be allowed against small maintenance costs (and fifty
pounds doesn’t go very far to-day!) On
this basis, the Belfry is losing money. Even this does not take into account any money which ought to be set
aside for later and bigger repairs or for capital improvements – so we can put
away any flags which we might have thought of waving.
Thus, unless things alter, the committee will have to dip
into general club monies for anything the Belfry might need. But general club monies already have a lot to
do. More Belfry expenditure could well
mean less tackle or less B.B. for instance.
What about publications? In the last B.B. it was stated that these now handle more money than
does the Belfry. Maybe, but they dont
make a large profit. The committee have
now to examine ALL club spending. It is,
however, very unlikely that a continual drain on general club funds could be
permitted as a method of financing the Belfry.
Even so, there is no need yet for alarm and the committee
sees no need for any special measures to be taken. It is merely a situation which needs careful
watching. It is still early days, and it
is possible that a natural balance may yet arrive. As a first step towards helping such a
balance to occur, the committee considered the amenities of the Belfry and have
asked for schemes to be prepared for improving the size and accommodation for
the Ladies Room; improving the heating arrangements; and improving the showers
and toilets. If these can be done at
reasonable cost, they will be put in hand.
They then went on to discuss the use of the Belfry, and here
the subject becomes more contentious. Even so, the facts tend to act as clear signposts. For instance, some felt that the proportion
of guests was too high but the fact remains that if there were no guests,
then every single club member would have to pay an additional pound a year
(including all life members!) merely to keep the Belfry afloat. So the Belfry, at present, cannot cater
exclusively for club members. Neither
can it afford to cater for club members who do not contribute directly to its
funds, if any such catering means a reduction in those who do. It must be a case of ‘He who pays the piper
calls the tune’.
Of course, many members have paid a considerable personal
sum towards building the new Belfry, and these people ought to be able to
enjoys its use. Social events, slide
shows and lectures bring a variety of club members together and where else but
at the club headquarters? This is
obviously true, but it must be remembered that if any such events dissuade
people from staying at the Belfry it become very difficult to justify them. To provide a financial voice which would
demand a hearing, evening or day use of the Belfry would have to bring in about
£10 a month, and no scheme so far gets anywhere near this.
It goes without saying that the committee will welcome and
examine very carefully any suggestions from members on this subject. The committee, on the other hand, cannot
gamble with club finances and schemes which say in effect Spend out THIS much
– or take the risk of losing THAT amount of revenue and you MIGHT make an
overall improvement EVENTUALLY must be looked at with extreme caution.
Editor’s Note:
The Editor would welcome any
comments on the subject of running; improving; maintaining; costing or any
other aspect of Belfry affairs.
Monthly Crossword Number 22.
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Across:
1. Rock is this the caver
underground. (5)
5. Can describe water or cave floor. (4)
6. Iron this makes ruddy stal! (5)
9. Climbing aid in pot? (5)
11. Backward skin blemishes can embellish cave. (5)
12. Blinded warriors home this on Mendip. (4)
13. Mendip Hole. (5)
Down:
2. Cave dweller stab in back? (4)
3. Large type of this in Cuthberts and small in Goatchurch? (5)
4. Mendip Hill in Ordnance Survey provides new cave. ,5)
7. Stone used differently in survey work. (5)
8. Stream goes loud, deep and south. (5)
9. Sailing boat going backwards for cave waters. (5)
10. Evacuate. Halve and reverse underground. (4)
Solution To Last Months Crossword
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